Cheap Hotels in York

National Railway Museum York

The National Railway Museum (NRM) in York tells the story of rail transport in Britain. The museum has won several awards over the years, including European Museum of the year in 2001. The museum is not only home to many locomotives but also the home the National collection of written and pictorial artefacts.

The museum has a total of more than 300 pieces of rolling stock, which are rotated for the general publics viewing during the year. The NRM sits on a site of just over 20 acres alongside York’s railway station and main East coast line. The museum also housed the York Eye, for a short period of time, until its departure to its new site.

The NRM was established at its current site in York in 1975. The museums collection and popularity has continued to grow at pace. Visitor figures for the museum are now annually more than 750,000. The museum is ideally situated for those arriving by train with a staircase at the rear of the platforms direct to the museum.

The Museum was opened by The Duke of Edinburgh in 1975. The opening was planned to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Stockton & Darlington railway.

The museum had decided to incorporate all periods of train travel and its history. The new museum was instantly a huge success both with the public and the critics alike. In 1979 a working replica of Stephenson’s Rocket was commissioned. This model over the years has been loaned out to many other museums and events and has been seen by thousands.

A few years later in 1985 a second piece was commissioned, the Iron Duke, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Great Western Railway.

The NRM had concerns over the roof structure in the main building.  A decision was made to start work on refurbishment in 1990 and continued until the Museum re-opened in 1992 with its new great hall and working turntable. The new halls structure gave the public a better chance to view these fantastic pieces of machinery and history.

Five years later in 1995 the NRM joined forces with York University and created the Institute of Railway. Also the museum joined up with York College to create the Yorkshire Rail Academy.

It has been a important development with the museum and its hosts to form a good relationship. Today the partnership is just as strong, with the museum providing engineering apprenticeships, and keeping the heritage of skills alive. The city of York is extremely proud to house the National Railway Museum.